XV750/1100 mongrel

Hi!

I presume this very nice place on the World Wide Web have become enriched with many new members since my last post. No need to tire you with my absence, but it has all to do with life, and nothing to do with this site or its members.

Since I was last here, I have spent every moment available to completely strip and redo my Mongrel; a 1982 XV750 Virago fitted with a 1990 XV1100 Virago engine. I performed a less involved resto-mod back in 2016, then rode it through the 2017/18 winter, with lots of salt on the roads - and never washed it. Until this fall. The result was that rust had eaten into just about every part of the bike, from stands up through the exhaust and frame and into the fenders.

As it was, looking surprisingly good - after its first clean in 6 years - consider the amount of corrosion it suffered



This detail picture of the frame is pretty representative for the state of the metalwork on the bike



I finished it up today. This is how it looks now, sorry about the messy background



For those with nothing to do, I will include a list below the pictures of what I have done to get to this stage. At least what I can remember of it - there have been so many minor things it could fill a book.

Fuel tank from the top, my own design and paint. I won't take offence if you do not like it, as I know it is not run of the mill



Showing more of my messy shop



Even more clutter



New self-made wiring harness hooked up



Testing the wiring/function before taping up and running it inside the frame, note new "brain"



Oxford heated grips



One-off bracket holds non-stock Mosfet R/R



SUMMARY

Stripped bike completely other than engine, which remained mostly intact, but lifted out of the frame.

Stripped frame and stands and fork lowers and grab rail and rear fender and triple tree and front engine mount and swingarm of paint and rust/corrosion

Painted frame and stands black

Painted lower triple tree silver

Lightly polished fork lowers and upper triple tree

Polished very dirty and rusty front header pipe and "new" second hand mufflers

Lightly cleaned and polished wheel rims

Overhauled the brake system with new pistons and seals

Fitted brake disc off a Seca 750, saving about 2 pounds of unsprung weight

Fitted front fender off a Seca 750, requiring mods of the brake line bracket

Fixed inaccurate rev counter by replacing seven capacitors

Drew up totally new wiring harness and built it, omitting all but one relay (for starter) and all safety gadgets

Ordered and fitted new TCI (brain) made to order in the Netherlands

No room for the TCI on the Gen I frame, so I had to make place through an inverted box inside the pillion portion of the seat

Fitted new bearing spacer and end seals for the swingarm

Seat had already been fully reshaped by me in 2016, but made a new cover for it

Fitted new tires, 130/80-18 rear (Seca wheel) and 100/90-19 front

Fitted handlebars off my in parts NT650V Deauville

Fitted two-way throttle so I could use both cables (open / shut) like you find on the later carbs

Fitted Oxford heated grips, with mount for control pod requiring mods to fit on the right since the old clutch lever holder is held with a single bolt clamp

Cleaned, stripped and zinc-plated lots of bolts and bracket

Stripped and ultra-sonically cleaned the carbs, zinc plated all steel parts

Made a new front for the RHS sidecover, as I had earlier cut that off to fit a number plate. Used bits off the Deauville fairing, reshaping it and welding it in place with soldering iron

Removed, stripped, cleaned, fixed and remounted the starter motor - much more pain that it should have been due to the ¤&¤%#& starter system design

Made a new tail-light fit the fender

Made a bracket for the R/R

Fitted new YSS shock absorber

Modified fork damper rods and fitted YSS emulator valves

Painted tank, fenders, head light and sidecovers and covered with 2K clear - orange match my helmet that I painted a couple of years back

Of course, new oils and filter and battery and lots other small stuff you tend to forget about


Engine fired instantly after all this, which was a relief - I was afraid I had messed up the starter system and/or the wiring, but all is good. So far, at least. Tomorrow is our "4th of July", but I hope to take it for its inaugural pre-resto ride on Thursday.